Wikivoyage:Image policy

This page in a nutshell: This policy explains how we use images (and, to some extent, other media) on Wikivoyage. With very rare exceptions all new images should be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. Image use in articles should be kept at the minimum necessary to get across a point or impression.

Don't get overexcited adding images to articles. Travellers may be using Wikivoyage from networks with very low bandwidth. In some countries, an internet café with ten computers connected to a single 56k modem is still fairly common. Even travellers in developed countries can often be limited to 10k mobile GPRS access.

This doesn't mean no images, just no more images than are necessary to make the article beautiful and informative.

By default images in Wikivoyage articles should be right-aligned. Occasionally, though, it may be better to left-align or center an image. For example, images that are much wider than they are tall (e.g., panorama photos, or the occasional map) should usually be centered. Left-alignment may be used to break up a long string of right-aligned images, to ensure that images appear close to the text that describes them, or to avoid visual conflict with infoboxes. Layouts are finicky, and what looks good on your screen can often look bad on someone else's, so if you do opt for non-standard alignments, here are a few guidelines to consider:

Don't use left-alignment just to squeeze more images into an article. A likely indicator that you're doing so is that vertical overlap seems necessary.

In a given section, put the first object (whether image or text box) to the right, especially if directly underneath the section header.

Avoid left-aligning an image if doing so would push any section heading or items in a bulleted list to the right; this can be confusing for the reader.

Any given layout should endeavor to use as few left alignments as possible. When in doubt, leave it right-aligned.

Following these guidelines will help to ensure the article doesn't have too many images, and prevent many unforeseeable formatting issues.

Wikivoyage does not use montages, or really any type of image other than maps or simple photography. Montages are problematic in particular for a travel guide, because their aesthetic is reminiscent of a travel brochure, or some other promotional, rather than informational, material.

Image galleries are discouraged, and should only be considered for showing multiple examples of a specific topic (for example, in describing flora and fauna or cuisine – but not attractions). Image galleries should not be used solely as a way to include a large number of different pictures in a destination article; we aim for a #Minimal use of images.

Prefer pictures which are representative for what a location looks like today. Avoid obsolete pictures, which for instance depict buildings which have been torn down. They can be considered in historical travel articles, if the context is clear to the reader.

As a general rule, photos of individual businesses, especially those seen to be promotional, will be removed. Exceptions include images that are meant to be illustrative of the type of business establishment in a certain region, or those of exceptionally famous establishments. See also Wikivoyage:Don't tout.

If a business has its latitude and longitude specified through either the {{marker}} template or one of the {{listing}} templates (including {{see}}, {{do}}, {{buy}}, {{eat}}, {{drink}}, and {{sleep}}), it is possible to add a photo of that business to the dynamic map using the |image= parameter. Purely promotional images, such as logos for each location of identical chain restaurants and hotels, are best avoided; the content needs to be useful to the traveller.

User page photos and graphics like maps of where you have been should be uploaded to Commons. Be sure to add the template {{User page image}} to the image when uploading so that it is clear the image is for your user page.

Buildings and artworks like paintings and statues are copyrighted by the creator. However, in most countries, you are allowed to publish pictures of them as long as they are on permanent public display, and license those photos for editorial and commercial use (including Wikivoyage) without committing copyright infringement.

See Commons:Freedom of Panorama for an extensive discussion, including details of the law in many countries. If your image is not permissible on Commons because it is a derivative work of a copyrighted work of art or architecture, it may be OK to upload here under our Exemption Doctrine Policy.

Unlike other Wikimedia projects, we prefer to display static maps in a PNG format, rather than an SVG format. They should also have a vector-format source file. This allows us to have one SVG "source map" file, which can hold multiple text layers for different languages, and from which we can export PNG map files in different languages. See Wikivoyage:How to draw static maps for more information.

For vector-format files, we prefer SVG, but other vector formats (Adobe Illustrator, PostScript) are better than nothing.